


The Hunter

by Deshou



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Government Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slash, Werewolf Hunters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-06-03 20:37:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19471744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deshou/pseuds/Deshou
Summary: Sirius is a werewolf hunter who has failed to capture Remus Lupin three times.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Story set-up: Sirius is a werewolf hunter who has failed to capture Remus Lupin three times. This will probably end up being about 5 short-to-medium sized chapters, with some angsty sleepingwiththeenemy!smut toward the end. 
> 
> Magical AU: Remus never went to Hogwarts and Voldemort doesn't exist.
> 
> Disclaimer: Tis Jo's, not mine.

**Attempt #1**

The first time Sirius had tried catching Remus Lupin, he'd ended up with a bloodied nose and a weeks' suspension.

It was his first month on the job and he'd turned twenty years old the week prior. The department veteran he was apprenticing for had over thirty years of experience as a werewolf hunter. Their actual title was Wolfsbane Officer, but it was a gentle name for a job that required capturing unregistered dark creatures by means of force, dead or alive.

"See that one in the blue?" his mentor, Davies, whispered as they peered through the grimy pub window. "That's Rooper, we caught him last year but he escaped our holding facility by snatching a wand from one our guards. The two pale ones are his long-time friends, the vampire Nightingale twins. Lupin should be somewhere around here, our spy said they arrived together an hour ago."

Sirius had sighed apprehensively but was eager to get on with it.

'The back door is open," he murmured to Davies. Davies nodded.

"Good—I'll check it out, you stay here and make sure they don't leave."

Sirius watched as his mentor crept around the side alley toward the back dumpsters. He checked his watch. Backup would be arriving any second now from the Ministry.

" _Oh_ …"

Sirius scowled and jerked around in alarm toward a window near the kitchens. It was the opaque frosted kind of glass, made for a bathroom. He inched closer.

" _Ungh, fuck, yesss_ …"

The window was cracked open, and as he drew up to it, he could see the outlines of two boys, pressed up against the adjacent wall next to it, thrusting together in a tight-locked embrace.

He had known it was wrong, _so wrong_. It wasn't any of his business. How would he have felt, if some creep spied on him in this way?

But he couldn't move away. A brown haired boy was pressed up against the wall, his head thrown back, the others' lips locked on his throat, and he was moaning with such sensual abandon that Sirius felt it reverberate like a shock wave through him that grabbed him right by the balls.

Sirius' curiosity got the better of him, and he inched toward the window crack to get a glimpse of what the boy looked like, when—

BANG

" _AAAaaargh_!"

"Oh _fuck_ , what in the bloody….?!"

Sirius had fallen backward on his rear, cupping his face as his nose gushed blood down his front, and trying to blink away white stars that burst in front of his eyes.

It had all happened so quickly—the boy pressed up against the wall had thrown his hand against the window to push himself back up, without realizing the window wasn't secured. It flew open, causing the edge of the iron frame to crash directly into Sirius' nose.

The two boys, in various states of undress, gaped at him as they tried to right themselves. One of them swore.

"Were you _watching us_ , you pervert?!"

"He has a Wolfsbane badge!"

"What's that?" the blonde panted in confusion.

" _Fuck!"_

The brown haired boy dashed from the bathroom, yanking his robes back on and shouting into the dining area. More yelling followed, along with the sound of heavy wooden chairs groaning as their owners made a run for it, a firework show of spells, and his mentor Davies cursing into the night air.

Sirius hadn't set any newbie records that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Attempt #2**

Sirius was twenty-three the second time he'd tried to catch Remus Lupin.

No longer an apprentice, he was now answering investigation calls on his own. One dull gray Tuesday in February seemed a routine job, as he answered an owl from a butcher in a rural wizarding town, who suspected werewolves of raiding his stock.

Sirius gave a reassuring smile to the shop owners as they recounted their complaint.

"….aye, we keep puttin' up shield charms, but they keep gettin' at our raw cuts of lamb. I'm not in my prime years anymore, so my sons stay up, but they're not trained in this sort of…," the burly man trailed off, gesturing to his eldest son who was nursing purple boils on his face.

"Why do you think it's werewolves?" Sirius asked.

"They've come for us before and after the full moon for three months. Next full moon is Friday," the man was looking at him with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. "You're the kid who brought in Greyback, aren't yeh? I'm sure it won't be much trouble!"

* * *

Eleven hours later and Sirius was crouched inside the shop owners meat storage with multiple concealment charms on. He had transformed a fresh leg of lamb, hanging nearby, into a Portkey that would take the thief who touched it directly inside a cell at the Ministry. Now all he had to do was wait.

Sliding down the wall with his ears straining for outside movement, he reflected on his three years of service with the department. Last year he and Davies had tracked a werewolf named Gmork to an abandoned house when they'd stumbled upon Fenrir Greyback in his company. Being the most wanted werewolf in all Britain, Davies had immediately engaged in a fierce one-on-one duel—which he lost. Sirius won his duel with Gmork and had turned to see Davies on the ground, Fenrir breathing foul steam in his face.

The rest was a foggy, 10-second blur of a memory. Greyback had pinned him to the ground, snapped his wand with sharpened teeth, and Sirius had somehow landed within grasping distance of Davies' disarmed wand. The moment before he fell unconscious from the weight on his chest and the concussion from the fall, he'd managed to bind Greyback in impenetrable silver chains— some of which the werewolf still wore, to this day, in his cell in Azkaban.

That night had solidified his belief in a profession he had originally taken on half-heartedly after budget cuts in the Curse Breaker Department; that the work they did was important, they were saving innocent lives, and that maybe what he did in this life would somehow wash him of the sins of his toxic pureblood-obsessed family.

He was on the right side of history now, fighting the wrong side. His team was the good guys, and werewolves were the bad guys.

Sirius heard shuffling outside and perked up.

"Remus, be _careful_!" a young voice whispered as the heavy doors' complex locking mechanism clicked open from a spell.

"It's alright love, keep watch," a young man with light brown hair whispered, backing into the doorway and looking down at his companion.

"But I want to stay with you," came the whinging of a young girls voice.

The man seemed to look around hastily and then bent to hoist a small girl up the steps.

"Alright… you might as well learn now," he whispered back "I won't always be around, you know."

In the light of Remus' wand tip, Sirius recognized his large brown eyes and scarred face from three years prior. _Lupin was his surname_ , he thought. This time, Lupins traveling companion was a girl of about eight, dressed in rags, but otherwise well-kempt with a clean face and combed hair. Sirius frowned, taking in the situation as he calculated how to strike without injuring her.

But he needn't have worried.

"Remus, this one looks good!" she whispered, jumping to touch the foremost lamb leg. Sirius' stomach lurched.

The Portkey he had set earlier activated, and in an instant, the girl vanished.

_"_ _Luna!"_

Remus turned frantic, whipping around in a blind rage as Sirius shed his concealment charms.

 _"_ _Don't mo—,"_ Sirius had started to yell, before he was thrown unceremoniously backward by Lupins disarming spell.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Lupin bellowed. Sirius ducked around a chopping station and grabbed a fallen meat hook, hurtling it over the top as the werewolf advanced his way.

"She's safe, she's at the Ministry!" he yelled back, as Lupin blasted a rack of cured meats his way. _Wand, wand, where's my wand…?,_ his eyes scanned the floor desperately. Lupin yelled in rage.

"So you can _brand_ her and expunge her mind with potions, you _SICK fuckers?!"_ he yelled as Sirius chucked a cleaver over the table.

" _No!"_ he yelled back, shielding his head with his arms as a hail of smaller hooks flew back his way. "You've been _lied_ to, Greyback just said all that to gain power! The Ministry only registers werewolves so they can rule them _out_ of criminal activity, it's _for your_ _own protection!"_

Lupin shoved the heavy island separating them out of the way and looked down at Sirius in disgust, wand pointing at the nose he'd broken in their last encounter.

"I _was_ registered, you fucking git," he breathed. "Don't presume to tell me what they did or didn't do to me." Lupin's head jerked left, hearing voices growing louder outside, before turning back to Sirius. "You check on her in two weeks and ask if she even remembers my name," he spat before Disapparating.


	3. Chapter 3

**Attempt #3**

It would be seven months before their paths would cross again, this time on purpose.

Sirius had taken his advice, set on proving Lupin wrong. He had been with the department for three years, after all, and had brought in countless numbers of werewolves for registration. The ones who resisted did so because they were obviously criminals, so tracking their movements would expose them of the crimes they were already committing. It was known.

Luna hadn’t done anything wrong, so it wouldn’t be of any harm for her to be registered, he reasoned to himself— to have her transformations monitored, to keep neighbors safe from infection, and to heal her under hospital supervision after each full moon. Sirius found her in a pediatrics ward at St Mungos two weeks later.

“Hello Luna,” he said, sitting at her bedside and noticing with some unease that she was strapped down at the wrists. “My name is Sirius, I was the one who rescued you.”

The girl stared vacantly. He looked around for the Healer, but she was busied with assisting another patient.

“How have you been since the full moon?” he pressed on. “It was your first since being away from… Remus… so I’m sure it was different for you.”

She blinked but didn’t respond.

“Luna, do you remember Remus? Remus Lupin, he was traveling with—,” but his voice broke off, as she whispered back to him faintly, “Who’s Luna?”

* * *

Sirius, without knowing anyone else who might have a soft spot for werewolves, had reached out to Hagrid for help, who then contacted Dumbledore. Together they had made some hastily planned arrangements for Luna to be better looked after, close to Hogwarts’ grounds. Sirius then passed messages through the Wolfsbane Office’s spy network, which he hoped would reach Remus. For months, he heard nothing in response to his letters. 

_Her mind hasn’t been altered for good_ , he assured in one.

_I’ve appealed up the chain of command, and have been assured that it’s not normal protocol to do this to non-criminals_ , he wrote in another.

_Your file says you’ve been involved with ongoing criminal incidents since you were a teen, so it’s comparing apples to oranges._

_You’re still wanted for three outstanding warrants, not including theft. If you’re willing to meet in a ceasefire,_

_we could discuss you working with us as part of our network._

Half the time his written assurances served only to try and convince himself, rather than Lupin.

Then one day in September, an owl landed on his desk with handwriting he didn’t recognize. Neat looping handwriting that reminded him of a psalm.

_Black,_

_Thank you for looking after Luna. Tomorrow, 22:30. I’ll send a portkey. Come alone._

_R_

* * *

But he hadn’t come alone, and he had no intention on leaving empty-handed either.

Sirius gathered himself to his feet, tossing the portkey aside, and eyed the Muggle establishment with trepidation. Thumping music and men in tight pants spilt out the patio door, and a que wrapped around the brick exterior walls to an alley. Two male couples were pressed against the wall snogging silently, while others mulled around smoking joints.

He glanced idly over his shoulder and made to absentmindedly scratch his wrist—gently stroking the inside of his watch, which activated a tracker so his colleagues could find him.

“D’ya like the place?”

Sirius, practicing a smooth act of pleasant surprise that only years of training and a toxic childhood could provide, turned to acknowledge Lupin.

“Did you come alone?” Lupin asked.

Sirius answered in the affirmative, then glanced at the pub with a quirked eyebrow.

“Thought it might be a place one would least suspect…” Lupin grinned back.

Sirius nodded. “It’s good,” he said. “Can’t say we’ve ever searched one. Being a werewolf _and_ gay is a statistical anomaly, and with budget cuts we go for the more sure-fire bets.”

“Who says I’m gay though?” Lupin asked with an air of amusement, as they fell into step heading to the front door. “I could simply be the cleverest—.”

“I saw you once.”

Lupin nodded to the doorman and they slipped in ahead of the line, loud music and conversation washing over them.

“Did you say you _saw me_ once?” Lupin asked loudly, leaning inward toward Sirius’ neck.

Sirius tried to ignore the shiver that raked through him.

“It was a long time ago—you wouldn’t remember.”

Lupin frowned, and Sirius got the sense he wasn’t going to be let off the hook.

“You were… in a bathroom. In Northern Ireland. It was my first month on the job.”

Lupin’s eyes widened for a moment in recognition.

“That was _you?_ ”

Sirius cleared his throat and nodded, aching for a drink.

Lupin stared at him for a moment longer, and a small grin cracked at the corner of his mouth.

“Didn’t we catch you watching us?” he said quietly, and Sirius realized with a jolt how close their faces were for him to hear the other.

He swallowed and pushed past Lupin, heading to the bar through a pulsing dance floor, noticing several men turn to look at him as he passed but avoiding their eye contact.

“Two scotch,” he shouted at the bartender, who promptly ignored his other customers in favor of giving Sirius elevator eyes.

Lupin snorted loudly next to him, sidling up to join him.

“As much as I look forward to hearing your little speech about how I should join your spy network, I don’t think you’ll be able to appeal to understanding my struggles. It’s obvious you’ve never experienced a drop of oppression in your life.”

Sirius struggled a bit with the Muggle pounds, and then pushed one of the glasses at Lupin.

“So what should I appeal to instead?”

Lupin sipped the rim of his glass, gazing at him with a glint of avarice in his eyes, and Sirius realized for the first time they weren’t brown but molten amber.

 _Perhaps he wants money_ , Sirius thought, _or his record wiped clean, or maybe he wants to run free every full moon and bite Merlin knows how many more—_

“Do I disgust you?” Lupin asked suddenly.

Sirius was caught off guard.

“No,” he lied, a bit too quickly.

Lupin lowered his eyes to his drink, smirking in a smug manner that Sirius hated.

“Do you know how I’ve been able to evade capture for so long?” he asked.

Sirius shook his head, an apprehensive and bitter expression settling on his features.

Lupins eyes scanned the crowd of bodies around them, noticing several admirers glancing Sirius’ direction, and simpered at them as he moved in closer, softly skimming his fingers on the wrist of the hand Sirius was cradling his drink in.

“I can always tell when someone’s lying to me,” Lupin whispered shell of Sirius’ ear.

Feeling lightheaded, Sirius took advantage of Lupin’s lack of vision range to glanced toward the door, searching for his associates.

“I’ve never lied to you,” he said forcefully, almost convincing himself. “I wouldn’t be doing this job if creatures like you disgusted me.”

Lupin pulled back, breathe ghosting over Sirius’ cheek as he did.

“Creatures like me?” he whispered, almost inaudibly over the bar noise.

“People like you,” Sirius corrected quickly. “We’re just here to talk, Lupin. You told me to come alone, and I did.”

Lupin was still stroking his fingers over Sirius’ wrist, a smile playing at his mouth.

“Of course you didn’t, though,” he said matter-of-factly, and Sirius felt a jolt in the pit of his stomach as he realized Lupins’ eyes were not actually fixed on him, but on a point just past him, just past his ear, just immediately… behind him. 

“And neither did I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twiddling my fingers wondering if I should put the smut in the next chapter or in just the last chapter... hrmmm


End file.
